Clockwise from top left: Heidi Blickenstaff, Susan Blackwell, Hunter
Bell and Jeff Bowen star in ‘[title of show].’ Bell and Bowen also
wrote the show. Photo: Carol Rosegg.
advertisement
advertisement
|
By Allen Roskoff
Friday, August 22, 2008
[Description of show] in 40 words or less: this show f--king rocks!
If you want a great theatrical experience, run directly to the Lyceum Theater to see “[title of show].” It is perhaps the most delightful, charming, clever and beautiful show on Broadway. You’ll laugh, smile and cheer on the cast. The show is pure splendor.
At both of the performances I attended, the entire audience rose in a spontaneous standing ovation at the conclusion. While standing ovations may not necessarily be uncommon, they usually start with six people rising and then others following suit. At “[title of show],” the entire audience rose en masse.
The plot is simple: Two gay men, the show’s composer/lyricist Jeff Bowen and playwright Hunter Bell try to write a musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical. They bring in two friends, Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickstaff, add one pianist, Benjamin Howes (musical direction/arrangements), throw in four chairs for a set and create a mega hit musical comedy.
The cast shines from beginning to end. I had lunch with Jeff and Bell at Joe Allens. A most pleasant lunch I may add. They are both 39 years old, but Bell says that when he goes to Hollywood, he will be 27. They have been best of friends since 1995. They’re not lovers, though you’d swear they were by the way they relate to each other. They maintain that their collaboration is itself a marriage built over years and years of friendship.
Both men told me they voted for Barack Obama in this year’s primary, which I was thrilled to hear. Bowen, who is a total hottie, is also a member of the National Audubon Society and the American Birding Association. Now does life get any cuter then that?
The director/choreographer for “[title of show]” is Michael Berresse. He was most recently in “A Chorus Line,” where he actually played Zach, a director/choreographer. Other credits include “The Light in the Piazza,” “Kiss Me Kate” and others. Some 10 years ago when Berresse was in the original cast of the hit Broadway revival “Chicago,” he was the keynote speaker at Public Advocate Mark Green’s Gay Pride Ceremony at City Hall and he received the Human Rights Award. Berresse is also Bowen’s life partner. Knowing both of them, I think they make the perfect couple. I hope to interview Berresse in the near future.
“[Title of show]” exposes the personal lives of the co-creators with humor and reality. One central theme is that aesthetic people being themselves can be compelling. They write about what is funny about writing. Part of the philosophy that drove them is that if conventional wisdom would dictate that they shouldn’t say something, they purposefully put it in the show. As a result, the show has a genuine realism that is impossible to fake.
Since the two leads are gay men writing a Broadway show, it comes as no surprise that they have a tremendous number of inside references to Broadway shows. The references are often hilarious, such as in the following song:
BELL
Yes! You see a lot of times musicals are based on plays like “Spring Awakening,” “Vanities” or “Picnic,” which became “Hot September.” Other times they’re based on books, like “Shrek,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Mary Poppins.” But more recently, musicals have been based on movies, like “Shrek,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Mary Poppins,” “Hairspray,” “Billy Elliot,” “A Catered Affair,” “The Lion King,” “Legally Blonde,” “9 to 5,” “Spamalot,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Catch Me If You Can”...
BOWEN
Wow, really? Movies make good musicals?
BLANK PAPER/BELL
Well, they make musicals.
For the record, by no means is all of the humor Broadway-related. Like this exchane:
BOWEN
...and I think I saw Ken Billington.
BELL
You did? And did you see that cutie in the red shirt? I want up on that.
BOWEN
That guy in the red shirt is straight.
BELL
Well, so is spaghetti until it gets hot and wet.
After the show, the stage door is always crowded, and the waiting fans all have something to say about what the show means to them. One night a woman of a certain age was waiting to thank Bowen and Bell for making a show the way shows used to be: a bit daring and not just using the same familiar formula. I agree with her that there has not been another musical comedy to take such risks in decades.
The stage door does finds many parents bringing their gay adult children. I urge PFLAG parents like Suzanne Ramos, Phyllis Steinberg and Nila Marrone to grab their kids and run to see this show right away. In fact, I bet you will love it so much, you’ll be recommending it to your friends and returning to see it again.
“[Title of show]” debuted in 2004 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, followed by its off-Broadway debut in 2006 at the Vineyard Theatre. Bowen, Bell and Berresse each won a 2006 Obie for their work on “[title of show].” Bell and Bowen were also nominated for a GLAAD media award and a Drama League award. I’d be shocked if they don’t win the GLAAD award this year for the Broadway production.
And in closing, an excerpt from a delightful number from the show:
I’d rather be nine people’s favorite thing
Than a hundred people’s ninth favorite thing...
Those nine people will tell nine people
Then we’ll have eighteen people lovin’ the show!
Then eighteen people will grow into
Five hundred twenty-five thousand,
Six hundred people all lovin’ our show!
One thing for certain, count me in as one of the five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred people all lovin’ this show!
|
